Chapter 13

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A/N: Special thanks to Mari, my faithful reviewer! Girl power! Anyway, enjoy & review 'cause you love me!

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"Baby," Mark gently shook Maureen. "Time to get up."

He heard her moan quietly and sigh.

"No." She buried her head underneath her pillow and her arm flopped over the side of the bed.

"Yes," Mark laughed, pulling the pillow off her head and rubbing her back. "Please?"

Maureen turned over with her eyes still shut and smiled. "Only because I kind of like you."

Mark noticed the gold locket around her neck and smiled. He picked it up between his fingers and examined it, when Maureen opened her eyes and made a face.

"What are you doing?"

"You're wearing it."

Maureen rubbed her eyes and stretched. "Duh," she giggled. Her hand travelled up into Mark's hair and she yawned. "Can't I sleep a little while longer?" she pouted. Mark was a sucker for the pout.

Mark looked over at the small alarm clock by the bed and frowned. "Sorry. Your rehearsal's at 11, right?" Maureen nodded. "Well, it's 9:30 now, so you've gotta get going."

Rehearsal. Shit. That meant she had to go see Joanne afterwards. She didn't need a watch. Maybe she could just buy a new one. She'd had that one for a long time, anyway. It was old and the band was practically falling apart and when she moved her arm she could hear pieces jiggling around inside. But she had to break it off with Joanne, because she was in love with Mark. She had to get out of the relationship before Mark found out. And she didn't want to hurt him. She could do it. She was mature and reasonable and she could handle it. She wouldn't give in to the temptation and she'd break it off, and everything would be fine.

Maureen stuck out her tongue and got out of bed. She stretched again and looked back at Mark, who was laying back down with his eyes shut.

"If I don't get to sleep than neither do you, Mister!" she laughed, attacking Mark with her pillow.

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April heard the noises from the next room that woke her up. She carefully opened her eyes and smelled some kind of breakfast food scent wafting in from the kitchen and lifted her wrist and looked at the watch that she had forgotten to remove the night before. She was surprised to find out that it was almost two in the afternoon. She went to sleep very early, at about ten o'clock, but figured it was probably all thoughts of Roger swimming through her mind that made her so tired and bogged down.

She sat up and leaned back against the headboard. The all-too familiar nauseous feeling was once again present in her stomach, but she had become accustomed to ignoring it. She didn't feel up to getting up and out of bed just yet, so she sat in silence, thinking. She looked around Roger's messy and disorganized bedroom. He was such a slob, but it was an endearing quality in him. There were dirty clothes strewn all over the floor. The window had a crack in it, which was covered by connected pieces of duct tape. The closet door was missing a hinge which could probably be found underneath the clothing piles. She didn't care, though. She was pretty sloppy, too.

April remembered the decision she had made the night before. Who was she kidding? She couldn't go into rehab alone. She would wait for Roger to return home, then she'd calmly sit him down and convince him to go. She needed him there with her, and besides, he needed to get off drugs, too. He was more addicted than she was, so she couldn't even think of how he was feeling without shooting up if she felt so horrible right now.

She took the ratty blanket off of Roger's bed and wrapped it around her shoulders, stepping out of bed. She pulled it taut around her and opened the door. She hit a wall of the strong smell of bacon and eggs and her stomach began churning. She ignored the feeling again and sat down at the island with Mark who was eating a very late breakfast.

"Morning," he greeted her through a mouth full of food. April smiled in response.

"How are you?" he asked after swallowing.

April shrugged. "I'm okay. I've been better, I guess," she replied. Mark nodded and turned back to his food.

"Want some?" he asked, pushing his plate towards her. April immediately pushed it back.

"No, eat it," she told him. "I'll get something a bit later. Is this your breakfast?"

Mark nodded again. "Yeah, after Maureen leaves the loft I live a double life in which I sleep. A lot," he laughed. April forced a small smile and rested her elbows on the table top. She rested her head in her hands and breathed slowly.

"You sure you're alright?" Mark asked. April shook her head.

"It'll pass."

Mark shrugged and placed his empty plate in the sink, rinsing it off quickly.

"Okay." Mark left the kitchen and sat down on the couch.

"Where's Collins?" April asked slowly, her head still in her hands.

"Class. He'll probably be home around five."

April sighed and shut her eyes tightly. This wasn't happening. She stood up carefully and walked over to the bathroom, using whatever she could for support. The blanket had fallen off of her, but she could care less at the moment. Her legs felt wobbly and she was sweating profusely. When she got into the bathroom, she shut the door and sat down on the floor. She pressed her hands on the cold tile beneath her and sighed slowly. The cool tiles felt good on her skin. She carefully moved over so she was sitting in front of the toilet and she lifted the seat. This was going to be a long day.

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Maureen stood in the carefully carpeted hallway in Joanne's office in front of the black door, her hand poised to knock.

'I can do this,' she kept repeating to herself in her mind as she studied the gold-coloured plaque on the door. She knocked and waited for a short moment, but when nobody answered right away she turned around and began to walk away.

'Chicken.'

"Maureen?" She stopped in her tracks. That would be Joanne. She slowly turned around with a nervous smile on her face.

"Hey Pookie," she greeted.

"Come on in, I've got your watch for you." The slightly taller woman smiled and open the door for Maureen to come in. She did so, and silently sat down on one of the chairs facing Joanne's desk.

"I missed you last night," Joanne smiled, shutting the door behind her. "I haven't seen you in a while. I miss you."

Maureen gave a small shrug. "Miss you, too." No, Maureen, stop it. That's not how you get out of a relationship.

Joanne stepped over to the coat rack by her door and rummaged through her pocket until she found the watch that she was looking for. She moved over to her desk and sat down behind it, sliding the watch across to Maureen.

"You came at a good time. I just finished up with a client."

"Oh," Maureen replied quietly, looking down into her lap. She didn't know what to do now.

"Are you okay?" Joanne asked, concerned. "You seem kind of despondent."

Maureen looked up and smiled. "No, I'm okay. Just, tired, I guess. Rehearsal does that to a person." Both women smiled and sat in silence. Maureen reached across the desktop and grabbed her watch, glancing down at it quickly.

"Oh, crap! It's almost 4! I gotta get going, Pookie," she lied. It just felt so awkward.

"Oh, sure, yeah, of course. Mark will be waiting," Joanne nodded. She wasn't bitter or angry, though. She understood Maureen's situation and knew that she wanted to ease out of the relationship. Joanne was very understanding, and that was one of the qualities Maureen loved in her. Liked in her.

"Hey, why don't we go out for dinner sometime this week?" she asked. "I mean, if you want to. We don't have to. . ."

"Sure!" Maureen answered excitedly. "I'd love that."

'Good job, Maureen. Way to let her down easy.'

Both women stood up. Joanne walked Maureen over to the door and hugged her tightly.

"Call me?" Joanne asked.

"Definitely," Maureen smiled warmly. "I will talk to you soon, then." She kissed Joanne quickly and slid out the door. She walked down the hallway and out the front door, down the steps from the stoop. She walked down the block, and ducked into an alley between two high-rise apartment buildings.

"Fuck!" she screamed, jumping up and down. She kicked at the walls and continued to yell obscenities some more.

"So apparently I want Joanne," she said to herself. "This isn't good!" she screamed one last time, slamming her foot against the wall. She sighed and rubbed her slightly injured ankle and shut her eyes to regain composure before walking back out onto the street. She tried to ignore the few stares she was getting from passer-bys and proceeded to hop on the subway and return home to the loft.

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Mark finished writing on the sticker label and stuck it onto the video tape sitting in front of him on the coffee table. He had finished making Maureen's anniversary video. He had put together images of them at various locales in New York, and sure most of the shots were of her, but he knew she'd still like it. He smiled to himself and walked over into their bedroom, hiding the tape in a dresser drawer. He left the room and went back over to the couch in the living room. He could hear the sounds of April throwing up in the bathroom, but he continued to try and tune it out. She had been in and out of the bathroom all afternoon. When she wasn't getting sick, she was either shivering or sweating and worrying about getting sick. Mark had tried to get her to at least drink some water, but she refused to. She could be as stubborn as Roger sometimes.

Where was Roger? Mark was getting worried about his friend. He didn't want to be, though, because of all the trouble he had put him through lately. Roger was driving Mark crazy, but even so, he was kind of offended that he asked Maureen to be the witness at his and April's wedding before him. He shrugged it off, he didn't really care.

The loft door creaked open and Collins and Maureen entered laughing. Mark smiled and greeted both of them. The two arrivals hung up their coats and took off their shoes and sat down in the living room with Mark.

"How was your day?" Mark asked Collins.

"It was alright. Busy. I'm hungry. You two want anything?" he asked, standing up.

"No thanks," Maureen replied.

"Yeah, I'll have whatever you're having," Mark said, wrapping an arm around Maureen's shoulders. "Not hungry? Even after a day of work?" he asked her.

Maureen shrugged. "Nah."

The bathroom door creaked open slowly and April came shuffling out, paler than normal and frowning. Everybody looked over at her. Maureen gasped and Collins rushed over to her from the kitchen.

"Good Lord! Are you okay?!" he asked, rushing over to her. He placed a hand on her back and felt her shivering, leading her over to the chair in the living room.

April shook her head. "I'm going to rehab."